Drift-Glass.com

I just started this website and a new product, I have just copyrighted and and I am about to submit my patent for it. I am trying to get different aquarists opinions on this in order to develop something that will appeal to many different types of styles.

Mainly the idea is to create a product that is water safe, looks natural and beautiful.

This is the closest ones I have made to the natural style. I am going to add some more wood grain texture and less of a metallic look to it once I get in the studio next.

I have made some other glass that looks kind of natural while still keeping that glass look. It looks more like this in the tank:

I also made some purple ones and put them in my 20 gallon tank for show at the moment:

That is a great question. While setting up the 20 gallon one I put rocks on top of them and they are holding up really nice. I would say they are sturdy to an extent.

The tips and any thin areas will be easy to break off or chip. Any hard hits like dropping a rock from over a foot above it onto the glass will most likely crack it. It is hard thick glass so it has a lot of weight behind it to keep its structural integrity, but it is glass.

Basically I think its sturdy enough to take weight and pressure but not to be thrown or anything like that.

Looks cool, ive been looking for 5/6 glass cubes for a modern looking hardscape. These could make wonderful accents. If theyre hollow could you silver fume the inside?

Shhh, but a long time ago, some friends bong stem broke and i wanted to turn the bong into a cave for my fish.. never did, i was worried about my fish gettin some serious munchies or sick from chemical residue.

Edit: you could experiment with dabbing cloth on the soft glass to add texture, though i dont know how easy this will be.

These are beautiful. I can also see them in marine aquariums in vibrant colors to complement the fish. I think they're a really neat idea! They're blown, I assume?

Yeah that is the problem with the Vibrant colors. They really clash with the natural planted look. It's a real problem.

Yes these pieces are sculpted. It was done using blowing techniques but because this was a solid piece it was not actually blown.

Quote:

Originally Posted by steven p

Looks cool, ive been looking for 5/6 glass cubes for a modern looking hardscape. These could make wonderful accents. If theyre hollow could you silver fume the inside?

Shhh, but a long time ago, some friends bong stem broke and i wanted to turn the bong into a cave for my fish.. never did, i was worried about my fish gettin some serious munchies or sick from chemical residue.

Edit: you could experiment with dabbing cloth on the soft glass to add texture, though i dont know how easy this will be.

Silver fumes are used in torch / lamp working which is Pyrex. What happens with our color is we reduce it by applying C02. Any kind of burning matter will do that. I personally use newspaper.

Someone actually suggested the texture thing before too, that is a good idea. I can actually sand blast the surface or the glass to make the texture. That would be great. I will have to do this.

i love finding washed up glass on beaches. you know broken beer bottle pieces that are completely rounded, soft, and scuffed up. it might be neat to add a texture like that to the glass

That would be very interesting. I would just have to be very careful with all the sharp edges. A lot of bottles use pyrex which is not compatible with our kind of glass. I can run into some trouble when mixing that. I can also try and add texture my not fully melting the colors I put onto the glass. I can leave a clump of color completely fused to the piece but not flattened against it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by plantbrain

You might take this a different direction.

Use a nice display tank and use the glass to emulate all the elements of a planted aquarium.

This would free you from aquarium constraints.

You can then use the brown wood like pieces, then the plants themselves can be formed and sold.

Glass grit like gravel.

Glass in/out filters etc and then but of course.......Glass fish(real live ones).

Or just a scene(empty tank, more a display case).
There might be a market for glass art based on aquatic plants.

So you are suggesting EVERYTHING made of glass. Now that would be something. Completely do-able too.

The problem with a all glass filter is the mechanics behind it. I would have to get completely clear parts in order to have a clear filter. I can blow a fish tank probably as big as 10 gallon so that would only be able to be used for bettas and small QT tanks.

The plants would be very expensive, because in order to make them look good I would have to put a lot of time into them. Real plants are thing and have some nice detail. I could make coral easier out of glass.

Salt water set ups like that would be much easier than planted tanks. While I did copyright this as Drift-Glass I have still yet to make my other copyright the Coral-Glass. This will be more like that.

I'm visualizing the planted freshwater aquarium using sand blasted Drift-Glass in order for moss and anubias to grow off of it. The salt water ones could use more of your idea where the entire construction is out of glass. That would just be a dream land of beauty in all honesty!

Here are two videos I just took of the two tanks with the Drift-Glass in it (Note: if you view them now they will have my commentary but later they will have music, their currently editing)

While I really dig the simplicity and beauty of the smooth pieces I think that texture is where you're going to find most success in planted aquariums. When you say sandblasting I'm imagining that it's after the piece is cooled but I think you could also try adding fine sand to the surface of a hot piece so that it partially fuses. Another thought is streaking or ribbed surfaces on the glass. Finally thought: nubs and / or loops so that people can tie on moss or whatever without having the string slide down the glass. Good luck and send me a sample if any of those ideas float your boat!

While I really dig the simplicity and beauty of the smooth pieces I think that texture is where you're going to find most success in planted aquariums. When you say sandblasting I'm imagining that it's after the piece is cooled but I think you could also try adding fine sand to the surface of a hot piece so that it partially fuses. Another thought is streaking or ribbed surfaces on the glass. Finally thought: nubs and / or loops so that people can tie on moss or whatever without having the string slide down the glass. Good luck and send me a sample if any of those ideas float your boat!

I can do the sand texture by sprinkling powder glass color onto it at the very end of the piece. This will make the color not melt but still fuse to the glass. Great suggestion.

streaking or ribbed...on the outside of the glass...The problem I run into it is the easy way to do it comes out uniformed and not natural looking..I will have to think of a way to apply this texture and make it look natural. A lot of people achieve that by using molds, I'm hand sculpting. Great idea though, this would add to the overall natural feel of the sculpture. Wood has a lot of these elements you are describing.

Nubs or loops hmm. I can do that def. That's a GREAT idea! I'll have to make some and then i'll show you what I got

Thank you very much for the wonderful ideas!

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD Blazingwolf

the purple piece attracts my attention. while i dont have a place for it in my aquariums. i see sculpted glass blowing as a viable options for many different hardscape ideas.

even iwagumi rocks might be cool as glass

Thank you!

That would be very interesting. Something done like paperweights but organic rock like. This idea can get very complex!

Have you ever seen Dale Chihuly's garden installations? I like them because he is not necessarily trying to imitate nature so much as compliment it. Something worth thinking about in terms of your project here.

Anyway, I like where you are going with this and I look forward to seeing more. I definitely think that you could make a killer tank for glo-light danios/tetras this way

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